READING LISTS
Indian and South Asian Stories
Featured Stories:
Badami, Anita Rau Hero’s Walk
An Indian patriarch oversees a crumbling house and a crumbling family. When his
estranged daughter and her husband die in Canada and he must bring their seven-year-
old daughter back to live in India, there is hope of reconciliation.
Balasubramanyam, Rajeev In Beautiful Disguises
A young South Indian girl decides to escape her father’s drunken rages by becoming a
film star. When she runs away to the city, she ends up as a maid, in conditions as harsh
as those she tried to escape.
Baldwin, Shauna Singh What the Body Remembers
Two wives of a Sikh landowner struggle for ascendancy in the marriage while he
struggles with what the 1947 partition of India will mean for his career and family.
Jha, Raj Kamal Blue Bedspread
After learning that his sister has died in childbirth and before handing the infant over to
foster care, her middle aged brother brings the infant home. As she lies on the blue
bedspread of his childhood, he begins to write down stories of his childhood and his
sister’s, in order to give the infant an identity in her new home.
Lahiri, Jhumpa Interpreter of Maladies
The 2000 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this collection of stories portrays Indians
in transition, at home and abroad.
Shamsie, Kamila Salt and Saffron
Aliya, a student at an American college, tells tales of her Pakistani family, from the early
Muslim invasions to the Partition.
Suri, Manil Death of Vishnu
As Vishnu lies dying on the steps of the Bombay apartment house that are his home, the
apartment dwellers, Hindu and Moslem, single and married, are revealed in their
humanity.
More Stories:
Author Title
Abdullah, Mena Time of the Peacock
Aikath-Gyaltsen, Indrani Crane’s Morning
Daughters of the House
Appachana, Anjaja Incantations and Other Stories
Listening Now
Balasubramanyam, R. In Beautiful Disguises
Bandyopadhyaya, B. Pather Panchali: Song of the Road
Banerji, Sara Cobwebwalking
Budhos, Marina Tamar House of Waiting
Professor of Light
Chaudhuri, Amit Freedom Song
New World
Chandra, Vikram Love and Longing in Bombay
Red Earth and Pouring Rain
Desai, Anita Fasting, Feasting
In Custody
Desai, Kiran Hullaboo in the Guava Orchard
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee Arranged Marriage
Sister of My Heart
Ganesan, Indira Inheritance
Journey
Ghosh, Amitav Glass Palace
Shadow Lines
Gokhale, Namita Paro: Dreams of Passion
Gupta, Sunetra Sin of Color: A Novel of Obsession
Gunesekera, Romesh Reef
Hamid, Mohsin Moth Smoke
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer Shards of Memory
Kesavan, Mukul Looking Through Glass
Kirchner, Bharti Shiva Dancing
Kureishi, Hanif Intimacy: A Novel; and, Midnight All Day: Stories
Kulkarni, Venkatesh Naked in Deccan
Markandaya, Kamala Nectar in a Sieve
Meer, Ameena Bombay Talkie
Mehta, Gita Raj
River Sutra
Meidav, Edie Far Field: a Novel of Ceylon
Mishra, Pankaj Romantics
Mistry, Rohinton Such a Long Journey
Swimming Lessons and Other Stories from Firozsha Baag
Mukherjee, Bharati Jasmine
Wife
Nahal, Chaman Lal Azadi
Naipaul, V. S. Half a Life
Nasarina, Tasalima Shame
Narayan, Kirin Love, Stars and All That
Narayan, R. K. Guide
Talkative Man
Nigam, Sanjay Snake Charmer
Rangel-Ribeiro, Victor Tivolem
Rao, Raja Kanthapura
Roy, Arundhati God of Small Things
Rushdie, Salman Satanic Verses
Shame
Sahgal, Nayantara Mistaken Identity
Selvadurai, Shyam Cinnamon Gardens
Funny Boy
Seth, Vikram Equal Music
Suitable Boy
Sethi, Robbie Clipper Bride Wore Red: Tales of a Cross-Cultural Family
Sharma, Akhil Obedient Father
Sidhwa, Bapsi Cracking India
Srivastava, Atima Transmission
Sundaresan, Indu Twentieth Wife
Syal, Meera Anita and Me
Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Tharoor, Shashi Great Indian Novel
Riot: a Love Story
Upadhyay, Samrat Arresting God in Kathmandu
Vassanji, M. G. Gunny Sack
Book of Secrets
Vijayaraghavan, Vineeta Motherland: A Novel
Revised 2/2002